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Hiring Effectively

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

hiringHiring Effectively – Throw out The Laundry List

Most hiring authorities use an extensive list of criteria such as: certifications, years of experience, responsibilities, education, etc. I have known managers to have more than 15 separate criteria. Having such rigid criteria often will eliminate professionals that may be the best fit.

A more effective approach to hiring is to develop three or four non-negotiable “must haves” that represent success in the job. Example: I worked with one of my clients to develop a list of non-negotiables for a Tax Partner and we came up with the following:

• Technical proficiency in corporate income tax
• Ability to teach, coach, mentor subordinates
• Ability to generate new business

Defining a small number of attributes and experiences is a challenging task but it is time well spent. It is a process that causes you to narrow down what makes for a successful employee.

Manager as a Corporate Athlete

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

Run track in suitManager as Corporate Athlete

Who would you want on your basketball team taking the game-winning shot with two seconds left? Would you want a confident and relaxed teammate like Michael Jordan, or a stressed out teammate? The answer is obvious.


Let’s apply this in our business environment. You, as a manager, will perform better when you stay relaxed and confident. If you stress out, you loose your ideal performance state. There is also the residual effect you have on your staff and your customers by staying calm and in control. They will admire your spiritual strength and feel that they can learn and perform better when around you. The more tranquil a person becomes, the greater is his/her success and power for good.

How to Develop Your Audit Brand

Monday, May 4th, 2009

team meeting
This is a continuation of last month’s ETip on why to create a brand for the IA department.


How to Develop the Audit Department Brand

  1. Your CAE should meet with senior executives monthly to promote the department and stay on top of the business.
  2. Use 6 Sigma to identify process improvements in the internal audit activity.
  3. Hire the best auditors who are capable of assuming successful roles in corporate management.
  4. Continuously train the audit staff.
  5. Constantly strive for excellence in adopting best practices and providing great customer service.
  6. Use internal Quality Control Questionnaires to obtain feedback from clients.
  7. Have Quality Assessments performed every 5 years by an independent source so you can assert that your audits are conducted “in accordance with the international standards for the professional practice of internal auditing.”
  8. Conduct a presentation at the start of an engagement to educate the client on the audit process.
  9. Circulate your IA Department’s success stories throughout the company.

Why Brand Your Audit Department

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

meetingBranding your audit department is essential for your success. A brand consists of a logo, a name and the entire feelings and expectations created by a product or service.

Why brand your audit department?

  1. To show your customers how your department positively affects the company
  2. To set expectations for your customers on consistency and quality of the internal auditing experience
  3. To help recruit top employee prospects from within and outside the company
  4. To build strong and trusting relationships with your customers
  5. To build loyalty and pride among the audit staff for retention purposes
  6. To provide confidence for the audit committee and investors
  7. To provide confidence for the external auditors for placing reliance upon your IA’s work papers

Next month’s ETip will consist of specific steps to take to develop your IA brand.

How to Mentor

Friday, April 24th, 2009

mentor photoMentoring

Successful managers are strong mentors to their staff members. This is done by:

  1. Being a positive role model and identifying other managers that can do the same.
  2. Supporting your staff in calculated risk-taking that is essential for their growth.
  3. Working with your staff individually to understand and help them develop their unique skills.
  4. Supporting continuing education efforts that are available through professional organizations.

Your involvement in mentoring will make it possible for your staff to develop to their fullest potential which will make them of greater benefit to your department.

Selling Candidate’s on Your Company

Friday, April 17th, 2009

Think you’re not in sales? Think again.

Recruiting top professionals requires you to sell your company in the interview.

Here’s a guideline for the order in which to sell to the candidate in the interview pinterview2rocess:

1. Sell the company

2. Sell the position

3. Sell career growth options

4. Sell yourself as a manager/mentor

Avoid Bad Hires - AIM High

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

hiring
A bad hire is an expensive mistake. AIM high when you interview and reduce the chances of hiring the wrong person.

To AIM high, ask questions about:

Adversity – to show maturity, strength of character and ability to learn from mistakes. Examples:

1. Describe a time of adversity in your personal or professional life. How did you respond? Were you successful in overcoming the problem? Why? What did you learn from the experience?

2. Tell the person about a specific adverse situation your company faced recently. Ask: If you were faced with this situation, how would you respond?

Ideology – to tell you if the candidate fits the company culture. Examples:

1. What is your understanding of our company culture and specifically why do you think you would thrive here?

2. What do you believe this department contributes to the company?

Motivation – to show desire to excel. Examples:

1. What are your career goals 5 years from now?

2. How do you intend to achieve your career goals?

Recruit Your Way to Success

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

handshake

Great managers are great recruiters. You can be a great recruiter by:

1) Being active in your professional trade associations

2) Being active in the initial hiring process and not delegating it all to HR and staff

3) Looking for opportunity hires, i.e. hiring when great talent is available even if no specific opening was contemplated

4) Re-recruiting your current staff. Show them you care (if you’re not re-recruiting your best staff, someone outside your company is)

Your involvement in recruiting is crucial to your department’s success in today’s environment where talent is scarce. Demographics and the retirement of the Baby-boomers indicate that talent scarcity is a long-term issue.

Teambuilding – Tips for High Performance - Part 2

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

This is the second part of a two-part e-tip on team building. Last month’s e-tip focused on the “harder” topics such as structuring your team. This month’s e-tip will give tips on the “softer topics,” such as communication, recognition and creating trust.

7 Tips for Strengthening Your Team

1. Communicate well. Make sure team members know what is expected of them to accomplish the team’s goals.

2. Recognize personal sacrifice. When a team member goes the extra mile on a project, make sure to retrustcognize that in front of the group. That way team members know that their own personal sacrifice will be appreciated also.

3. Encourage teammates to support one another emotionally. Be a cheerleader, offer encouragement, catch someone doing things right and sing their praises.

4. Spend time with teammates away from work. The most powerful way to develop a bond with team members is to get to know them on a personal level. Organize an after-work happy hour or take different team members to lunch occasionally.

5. Communicate well. Make sure team members know what is expected of them to accomplish the team’s goals.

6. Recognize personal sacrifice. When a team member goes the extra mile on a project, make sure to recognize that in front of the group. That way team members know that their own personal sacrifice will be appreciated also.

7. Encourage teammates to support one another emotionally. Be a cheerleader, offer encouragement, catch someone doing things right and sing their praises.

8. Spend time with teammates away from work. The most powerful way to develop a bond with team members is to get to know them on a personal level. Organize an after-work happy hour or take different team members to lunch occasionally.

Teambuilding – Tips for High Performance - Part 1

Friday, March 20th, 2009

This is the first part of a two-part e-tip on team building. This month’s e-tip focuses on the “harder” topics such as structuring your team. Next week’s e-tip will give tips on the “softer topics,” such as communication, recognition and creating trust.

7 Tips for Building Your Team

1. Observe group dynamics. Should an individual be an underperformer or have a negative attitude, they muteamworkst be removed from the team. It’s true: one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.

2. Hire carefully. Bring appropriate talent to the team; identify what talent is needed for each individual role. Encourage and support continuous improvement.

3. Diversify. Having team members with different experiences, ethnicity, and problem-solving approaches leads to fresh ideas.

4. Clarify each person’s role including deliverables, timeframes, etc.

5. Develop a cross training program. This protects the team should someone leave and it also provides stimulation that keeps everyone challenged.

6. Welcome new teammates. Turnover is inevitable to all teams. Assign a mentor to the new team member until he/she gets up to speed.

7. Encourage individual team members to hold each other accountable. Have everyone agree on an accountability system. The team leader cannot be everywhere and observe all interaction.


Conselium is an executive search firm that has become the most respected name in the U.S. for executive placement in the areas of corporate compliance, audit and IT Security. Conselium also specializes in the functional areas of corporate compliance, audit and IT security for Fortune 500 level companies across the U.S. including Dallas, Houston, Chicago, New York, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. Sitemap